Review of euthanasia and law in Europe

Euthanasia and Law in Europe is an examination of physician-assisted dying or physician performed euthanasia and the laws concerning these practices in European jurisdictions where the issue has been most visible. The Author's focus primarily on the Netherlands, where the practice has been open since the early 1980s and fully legal since 2002, and on Belgium, where a law modeled on that of the Netherlands was passed in 2002. They discuss briefly the relevant law and medical practices in several European countries where physician- assisted dying is not legal but nevertheless takes place: England, Wales, France, Italy, Spain, Norway, Denmark, and Sweden. They also examine Switzerland, where assistance from nonphysicians is legal, and which has become controversial for permitting what has been labeled ?suicide tourism.?